Hayley Orrantia on Settling Into Nashville and Embracing Tour Life

Hayley Orrantia is currently of her Strong, Sweet and Southern Tour, which wraps on May 19 at Nashville's Wildhorse Saloon. The singer and actress admits that she's excited to spend more downtime in her adoptive home of Music City once the tour ends, and before shooting for the sixth season of The Goldbergs begins in August.

In an interview with Taste of Country Nights' Sam Alex, Orrantia dishes on her ideal day off in Nashville: it'd include writing songs, meeting up with new friends and convincing her friends in Texas to visit.

"RaeLynn I hang out with quite a bit," Orrantia says. "I went to her birthday the other day and just love her. She's such a blast. My friend Lindsay James, who is an up-and-coming incredible artist. Watching her career blossom has been so exciting for me. When you meet people who not only you're friends with but you truly believe in what they're doing, it's that much more exciting when you see them achieve their dreams."

When Orrantia isn't on the road playing music or shooting her television series in Los Angeles, she feels at home in Tennessee and frequently spends time with peers like Cassadee Pope, Mickey Guyton and Leah Turner. "Running into a lot of great, familiar faces like Cassadee Pope, Mickey, that group is so fun. We have a lot of fun together," she says. "It's great because whether it's them and their husbands, we love having game nights. It's a great way to come together."

Orrantia's country music career is just beginning, but she has an impressive roster of songwriters in her corner. In the past, she's written with Liz Rose (Little Big Town, Taylor Swift), Corey Crowder (Chris Young, Pope) and Mark Bright (Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood) as well as Johnny Bulford (Young, Lee Brice). "Johnny Bulford is one of my favorite people to write with," she says of the songwriter who has written several hits for Young, including "Lonely Eyes." "Now that I'm in town, I hope that I can hit him up and we can continue writing together."

In the meantime, she'll be eyes forward on the road. The "Give Me Back Sunday" singer is about to close her tour — road life has been a major learning experience. "I'm working from the ground up here. I'm setting up merch as well as getting ready," she shares. "It's been a really great learning process and what you have to do as an artist when you get started."